A.N: Did you know that November is National Novel Writing Month? Right now, aspiring writers are taking up the challenge to try to write a novel before the end of November. Instead of participating in that, I decided that I'd rather try to update all my current stories this month. So far I've updated Spotted! and now Discoveries. Next up is Full Course. If I can, I'd even like to update them all twice. Wish me luck! I dunno about the end of this chapter, I kind of just wrote till I stopped. Overall I'm happy about it, but I'm mostly looking forward to the next chapter. - Merrow
::0::0::
Kyou sat on the curb and fumed. He couldn't believe he'd been so stupid. Tooru had all the money. How was he supposed to buy clothes with no money? He flexed his shoulders. Kazuya was a little smaller than him and his shirts all pulled uncomfortably in the shoulders on his broader frame. At least he'd realized it before he got to the counter. He didn't know where the convenience store Yuki and Tooru had gone to was so he couldn't even go get money.
He hated waiting.
Standing up he stalked down the street to another store. He'd just pick out what he was going to get and then buy it when they got here. He tried to think of what he had left. He was better off clothes-wise then the rest, because his clothes were more durable. He should be able just get away with a new pair of pants and maybe one or two shirts. He looked around the store as he entered, and knew immediately he was in the wrong store.
The clothes here were trendy, with nonsensical slogans in English and rhinestones decorating everything. He glanced around quickly, just to make sure there wasn't something he'd want to at least try on. A twinkle of red caught his eye, and he stopped at a display case of jewelry.
::0::0::
Yuki spotted Kyou first, exiting out of a store and paying no attention to where he was going. "Baka Neko!"
Tooru turned from the store window she'd been peering in to smile at Kyou has he approached them. "Kyou-kun!"
Setting down his bags Yuki stated at Kyou. The cat's hands were empty. "You haven't bought anything yet?"
"How can I without money?" Kyou asked sarcastically. "Damn Rat."
"Oh!" Tooru reached into her pocket and handed the purse to him. "That's right, I had it! I'm sorry Kyou-kun!"
"It's okay." Kyou said, having gotten past his frustration. "I picked out what I'm going to get though, from over there." He pointed to a store across the street. "I left 'em on the table in back if you want to go look." He coughed into his fist. "I saw something I want to show the Rat, we'll be over in a minute."
"Alright." Tooru said and turned to cross the street. She was a little nervous going off by herself, but she knew she was making both boys uncomfortable with her clingy-ness. She'd resolved to be braver and this was her chance.
"Your new outfit looks good." Kyou said grudgingly, just before she was out of earshot.
Tooru turned, smile breaking out across her face and waved, not stopping, "Thank you!" If she stopped she'd run back to them.
"What did you want to show me?" Yuki asked, not liking that she was off by herself. He told himself sternly that he couldn't be with her every moment of the day.
Kyou looked uncomfortable, he grabbed up the shopping bags Yuki had put down. "This way." He ushered the Rat into the trendy store and right over to the jewelry case. "That. I know we don't have a lot of money... but..."
Yuki looked down at the silver and red rhinestone creation. "What about it?"
"This is what I was thinking.."
::0::0::
Tooru was impressed by Kyou's choices. He'd picked out pair of plain earth tone trousers, and two shirts. One was a black collarless shirt with a white stripe going across the shoulders and the other a deep green button down. They were all made of good fabrics that would wash well, and the shirts were on sale! Knowing his dislike to have anything around his neck, she couldn't imagine him wearing the green shirt buttoned up. She looked around for a cheap t-shirt to wear under it.
She found a white sleeveless tee, they were sometimes called "wifebeaters" but she hated that name. It wasn't much at all so she added it to his pile. A customer glanced at her from the other side of the clothing rack and she started. She gathered up Kyou's clothes and scooted behind another rack, her heart thudding. She told herself she was being stupid, foolish, and idiotic. She tried to picture Kyou telling her to stop being so stupid and Yuki reassuring her there was nothing to be scared of. Why was she acting this way? She closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
Of the three of them, she was the least likely to be recognized. She didn't have to be afraid. No one wanted to hurt her. There was no reason for her to be scared. She breathed in and out, in and out.
"What are you doing?" Kyou asked, looking at her with amusement over a clothing rack. Yuki looked over his shoulder curiously.
"Breathing." She said and the boys exchanged glances. "I picked out another shirt for Kyou-kun, to go with the one he chose."
They took their time in the clothing store, comfortable now that they were all together. Tooru helped Kyou pick out a few outfits and talked Yuki into getting at least one more too.
Tooru watched Yuki adjust a collar of a shirt he was trying on, and Kyou stretching his arms in a hoodie to see if it fit. Something was off about the way they were acting and she tried to put her finger on it. They were both a little quiet... but not unusually so. They exchanged glances, and she tensed expecting an argument.
None came. She looked back and forth between them. Yuki had turned and was examining his shirtsleeves with too much concentration while Kyou played with the zipper of the hoodie and looked the other way. Tooru bit her lip, why weren't they fighting? Their bickering was one of those few constants she thought she could count on.
"Does Honda-san think we need anything else?" Yuki asked, having gotten back into his borrowed clothes.
Tooru shook her head. "No, I don't think so... maybe food for our trip, but we should wait until we know where we're going first."
"Maybe we can trade at the restaurant." Kyou suggested, coming up behind her. "It's not like we really need to carry the stuff we got with us, maybe they'll trade us for travel food."
"What is travel food?" Yuki asked as they walked up to the register to pay for their things.
"I dunno," Kyou said looking out the window, "Food you can eat while traveling, sandwiches and apples and stuff."
Tooru looked back and forth between them, this was getting really odd.
"Is something wrong Honda-san?" Yuki asked, taking the packages from the salesman, and guiding her out with a hand to the small of her back.
"No?" Tooru said uncertainly.
"Is that a question or an answer?" Kyou asked, mussing her hair. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing really." Tooru said smiling at them, trying to dismiss her unease as silly. They exchanged glances over her head and she tensed again. "Yuki-kun and Kyou-kun are acting strange," she blurted.
"We are?" Yuki said and glanced at Kyou. The other boy shrugged.
"How are we acting strange?" Kyou asked, his hand still tangled in her hair.
Tooru bit her lip but finally stuttered out, "Y-you're getting along."
"We are?" Yuki glanced at Kyou with an amused look.
"Isn't that what you're always trying to get us to do?" Kyou said.
Tooru shifted her hands on the handles of her shopping bag, looking back and forth between them. "Is Kyou-kun teasing me?"
"Maybe a little." He said tugging at her hair as they walked. "Where are we going next?"
"I think we should get some train and bus schedules." Yuki said rolling his shoulder a little. It was starting to hurt again. He'd have to check how often he could take his pain medicine, and how many they'd been given. It might be better to live with a little discomfort to make them last longer.
"Should Yuki-kun be carrying things...?" Tooru asked. "Does it hurt?" She shifted the packages she was carrying to one hand and lightly ran her fingers up his spine.
"Ahhh." Yuki stopped, arching away and his face flushing bright red at the sudden contact. His back seized in a spasm from the unexpected movement and he winced, losing his grip on the packages he was carrying.
"I'm sorry!" Tooru gasped. "Did I hurt Yuki-kun?"
"No," Yuki wheezed, horribly embarrassed at his body's betrayal. "I'm fine."
"Yeah, right, Rat. And she's got a point." Kyou said uncomfortably. Both Tooru touching Yuki in such an intimate way and the rat's pained reaction bothered him. "You shouldn't be carrying stuff. Give me that junk."
"I can take some too!" Tooru said, distress and guilt plain on her face.
"I'm fine." Yuki said trying to stop them from divvying up the shopping bags. "I can carry them."
"You can, but you shouldn't." Kyou said, putting some of the bags he'd been carrying inside Yuki's before picking them up again. "You know how back injuries are. You've given me enough of them."
"I have not!" Yuki said, "And if I have, it's only because your guard is so pitiful."
"No!" Kyou said stepping forward, "It's because you're a damn dirty rat who plays dirty!" He cursed himself, hearing those words out loud made him feel so juvenile.
"How is it dirty to defend myself from a stupid cat who likes to attack me out of nowhere?!"
Tooru smiled, this was much more familiar. "Which way is the bus station?" She asked.
"That way." Kyou jerked his chin down the street. "The trains and the buses leave from the same depo here. Shishou and I would take the train up here in winter, it was easier then driving."
"That's convenient. I'm surprised you didn't hike up here for training before you finding bears to fight." Yuki said, walking a pace behind them. He didn't know what to do with his hands now that they were empty. He stuffed them awkwardly in his pockets.
"I didn't fight with bears!" Kyou shot over his shoulder and Tooru giggled.
They returned later to the restaurant, tired but feeling accomplished. They had everything they needed to pick up and leave. They'd even talked about what kind of places they'd like to go. They'd decided against going anywhere too coastal, since the storms there tended to be worse which would be bad for Kyou. They decided not to go too north or too south, not wanting to deal with the harsh winters of the north or the longer summers of the south. They decided to avoid any more small towns; it was easier to be anonymous in a city. Everything was leading them to central Japan. Yuki was a little nervous since it seemed they'd be closer to home then they'd initially planned.
Yuki jogged ahead of Kyou and Tooru to open the kitchen entrance door but it opened before he reached it. Kazuya stepped out, struggling with two delivery boxes. His hair stuck out at odd angles, his cheeks were ruddy, and he had bandanna tied around his head to keep sweat out of his eyes.
Kazuya gave a tired grin as Yuki held the door for him. "Hey guys! Welcome back."
"Going out on a delivery?" Yuki asked politely. His back and ribs were really starting to hurt now. He'd waited past when he could take his next pill by several hours. It had seemed a good idea to try to stretch his medicine when he'd only been in a little pain, but now he was regretting it.
Kazuya gave a blustery sigh as he walked over to his bike and attached the delivery boxes "Yeah, only like, the five hundredth one I've been on today. Dinner rush has started early so it's busy inside too. Oh, but I got your laundry dropped off."
"Mai-san told us at lunch, but thank you Kazuya-san, very much." Tooru said. "We appreciate it." When everything was clean she could go through what was there and see if anything needed mending. She'd picked up a packet of thread for just that reason. "It must've been a bother on such a busy day."
Kazuya grinned and settled himself on his bike. "Not really. But I gotta get going now, or the food'll get cold. I'll talk to you guys later."
"Goodbye!" Tooru waved.
"In or out, kids! Leaving the door open lets in bugs." Hiroki called from inside the kitchen. Tooru quickly followed Yuki and Kyou inside, closing the door behind them.
"It looks like you all were busy." Mai said bustling into the kitchen with a load of dirty plates. "Go put your things away upstairs and come on down for dinner." She put the dishes into the sink and picked up a waiting tray of food.
Ginta gave them a friendly nod to them as they passed, half a dozen half prepared dinners in by him on the grill. His spatulas flashed as they scooped food on to waiting plates.
Yuki, Kyou and Tooru carried their things upstairs, feeling guilty at the industry around them. Tooru took their clothes out of the bags, refolding them quickly and so they wouldn't wrinkle and stacking them on the bed. She turned back to Yuki and Kyou and found them conferring quietly.
"No, not now... later may-" Yuki said shaking his head, he looked up at saw Tooru watching them. "Are you ready to go back downstairs Honda-san?" His face was a pleasant but careful blank.
Kyou was holding himself oddly, kind of bouncing on his feet. His expression was halfway between annoyance and something she couldn't identify. "What?" he said, blushing.
Tooru looked back and forth between them. There was definitely something going on between them, something that excluded her. "Um...Yes I'm ready, are Yuki-kun and Kyou-kun ready?" She rubbed her hands over her arms, feeling confused and unsettled.
"Yeah, let's go eat." Kyou said walking past her. He looked over Tooru's head at Yuki. "Should we offer to pay again? It feels weird to keep just taking stuff."
"I think Mai-san gets offended when we try." Yuki answered, gently prodding Tooru forward.
Tooru watched them chat, as they walked down the stairs feeling more and more odd and out of place. She tried catching Yuki or Kyou's eye and waited to be included in the conversation. But it floated around her with no gaps to allow her to enter.
"You kids hungry?" Hiroki said coming around the grill to set plates of ingredients within easy reach of Ginta's waiting spatulas. "Go on out and find an open booth. Grab some menus from the podium; we're just serving the dinner combos tonight. Let Mai know what you want and we'll get you all set up."
"Oh," Tooru blurted, "but everyone is so busy... maybe I could just make us something simple and we could eat upstairs?" She looked at Yuki and Kyou. They both looked surprised that she had spoken and she felt shaken.
"Nonsense." Ginta said, keeping focused on the grill.
"Honda-san," Yuki said, "We're being a bother getting in the way here. Let's go out into the restaurant." He nodded to Ginta and Hiroki and hustled her out of the kitchen with Kyou just a step behind. They nearly ran into Mai who was on her way back in with a fistful of order sheets.
"You're back!" She smiled brilliantly, happy despite her obvious exhaustion. "You must be hungry. There's a booth in back. Settle yourselves in, and I'll be over in a minute to take your order."
Kyou grabbed Tooru's hand and pulled her forward before she could protest again, finding the semi-circle booth and dragging her in. Yuki paused just to grab some menus, wincing when the slight bend caused more pain then he expected and ignoring the stares of the other patrons. Rumors had definitely run quickly through the town. The restaurant was packed with guests; most looked worse for wear. The town still had a lot of recovery to do from the storm, which had hit hardest in the residential areas. Yuki was amazed they still had the energy to peer and gossip about them.
Yuki grimaced as he slid into the booth. The whole angle was hard for him to manage, and even when he was finally down his back and ribs throbbed with pain.
"Yuki-kun has gone white!" Tooru exclaimed.
Kyou glowered at Yuki, not liking how worried he was making her. "Did you take your pain medicine?"
"No." Yuki said shooting him a dark look. Now Tooru looked terrified. "Not yet, it says to take it with food." He looked at Tooru and patted her hand reassuringly. "I'll take some just after I eat. It made me feel lightheaded when I took it earlier; I want to try not to do that again. Here," he said handing them menus and trying to hide how much the reaching motion hurt, "Menus."
Tooru peeped at him over her menu, her forehead wrinkled in worry. "Yuki-kun is okay?"
"It hurts a little." He admitted. A lot actually, he was two, almost three, hours past when he was supposed to take another dosage and the pain was nearly back full force. Her expression collapsed into worry. "I'm fine Honda-san, once I've eaten something I'll take my medicine." The pain was making him feel a little queasy at the thought of food, but he focused on the menu anyway. "What is Honda-san going to get?" He asked her, wanting to get those big concerned eyes to stop studying him so close.
Properly distracted she looked down at her menu. Yuki shot Kyou a death glare over her head for worrying her. Kyou glowered back; obviously just as mad that Yuki was so obviously in pain in front of her.
"I think I'm going to have the set A." Tooru said. "That one looks easy to make, so it shouldn't be too hard for Hiroki-san and Ginta-san. What about Yuki-kun?" Tooru looked up and then back and forth at Yuki and Kyou. They were staring at each other with fierce concentration. She didn't think they'd even heard her.
"Set A's mostly rice." Mai said, having come up just as Tooru was speaking. "Have the set D, the Oyakadon and Salad." She wrote it down without waiting for the response. Tooru was too tired and hungry to disagree, and her stomach growled loudly at the thought of a big comforting bowl of chicken, egg and rice. She flushed and Mai grinned at her. "Plus," the older woman smiled. "I know we've got it almost ready to serve." She looked at Kyou, "What will you have?"
"The same." Kyou said, his mouth watering. He couldn't even remember the last time he'd had Oyakadon. His stomach clenched, he couldn't believe he could be this hungry on a day where he'd had both breakfast and lunch. They'd been surviving on rice, broth and veggies for so long up at the shack he would have thought that just the large breakfast and lunch would have been enough. But it was like his body was rebelling at the thought of ever going hungry again.
"And you- Are you alright?" Mai asked. Yuki was looking positively green, and a light sheen of sweat made his forehead glisten.
"I'm fine." Yuki said. He could picture the Oyakadon in his mind, big chunks of chicken, smothered in egg with onions and daishi. His stomach growled but at the same time he thought if he saw it he might be ill. "But, could I just have the salad... I'm not very hungry."
"Yuki-kun should eat more then salad." Tooru said worriedly. Whenever Yuki was ill his appetite was the first thing to go.
"Your medicine will make you feel sick if you don't have something more then that in your stomach." Kyou said flatly, speaking from experience.
"I really don't want anything else." Yuki winced as shifted and his bruised ribs reminded him how much everything hurt. This is why he hated pain medicine. He'd been dealing with the pain fine before, but now that it had been gone for hours he wasn't used to it anymore.
"Yuki-kun..." Tooru said, reaching for his hand.
"Fine!" He said shortly, jerking his hand back. He wanted nothing more then to curl up somewhere and sleep. If she touched him he didn't think he'd be able to keep sitting upright. He'd collapse right on her, simpering like a child for comfort. "I'll take the Okayadon. And some water please." He averted his face from Tooru and Mai. He hated pity and knew he'd see it there. "Thank you." He said after a moment.
"I'll be back with your food in just a moment." Mai said, sounding uncertain.
Tooru blinked back surprised tears. Yuki was never so short with her. He must really be in pain, she told herself. "Kyou-kun, I need to go to the kitchen for a moment." Tooru whispered to the boy on her other side. Yuki didn't even look up as Kyou slid out and she escaped, ducking around tables full of guests that turned to watch her pass. She pushed open the kitchen door.
"I think that boy is hurt more then he's letting on." Mai was saying to Ginta and Hiroki. "Do you think we ought to call Kit-"
"Is there something we can help you with, dear?" Ginta interrupted, spotting her in the doorway.
"Um... it's just... when Yuki-kun isn't feeling well, sometimes peaches..." She said awkwardly. "That is, Yuki-kun likes peaches very much and even when he's ill or not feeling well he will still eat them. So I was wondering..."
"If we had any?" Ginta looked at Hiroki.
"Yeah, 'course. Hold on a sec." Hiroki pulled two fat peaches out of a large cooled pantry at the back of the kitchen.
"I'll get those Set D's ready." Ginta said as his assistant scrubbed and cut up the peaches.
"I'm sorry if Yuki-kun was rude." Tooru said to Mai. "Yuki-kun doesn't like it when he feels weak, he gets embarrassed."
"Most young men do." Mai said gently.
Hiroki walked over with a bowl of sliced peaches and a fork. "D'you think he'd want little cream?"
"No, thank you." Tooru said, brightening at the sight of the peaches. She felt horribly guilty that Yuki was in so much pain. If he hadn't gone after her mother's picture he wouldn't be in this trouble now. Getting him some peaches was the least of what she could do. "Thank you very much!" She smiled ran out of the kitchen.
Yuki had his eyes closed and leaned back against the booth back, trying to adjust to the waves of pain radiating from his back and torso. His shoulder felt like someone had stabbed it with a hot poker.
"Damn Rat," Kyou muttered. "Why didn't you take your medicine before?"
"Because I only have so many pills." Yuki said through a clenched jaw. "I wanted to make them last."
"Stupid." Kyou fiddled with the table settings. "You're freaking her out, you know." Kyou was more then a bit freaked out himself. He'd never seen the Rat this vulnerable before.
"I didn't think it would hurt this much." Yuki admitted. "It didn't hurt this much last night."
"Yuki-kun!" Tooru said coming up to the table. "They had some peaches...maybe you could try them." She set them in front of him with an anxious smile. "I know Yuki-kun isn't feeling very hungry, but these are his favorite, so I thought they might make you feel better."
Yuki blinked at her and then at the peaches. "Thank you, Honda-san." He said finally. He picked up the fork. The thought of any food was nausea inducing, but peaches seemed more appetizing then salad or heavy chicken and rice. He was touched that she thought of it, and embarrassed that he was so obviously in need of comfort and care.
Tooru watched him take a shaky bite and smiled brilliantly.
"Don't just stand there watching him eat." Kyou said, feeling irritated with the way she was fawning over the injured Rat. He felt mad for feeling that way, but it bothered him to see her paying so much attention to Yuki right in front of him. "Mai's coming, sit down so you can eat too."
Mai nodded approvingly at Yuki as she set the tray she was carrying on the edge of the table. "That's a good boy. Here's some water to take your medicine with." She set down a pitcher of water on the table. "Here are your dinners." She set down their bowls of chicken and small plates of salad with ginger dressing. "Now, if you all want more, you just let me know. After dinner go on upstairs and rest, we probably won't be up until late... things are still busy around here!"
"Thank you Mai-san." Tooru said bowing her head a little. "We appreciate it very much."
"It's no problem." Mai said, smiling. "I enjoy having more bodies around the house."
"Mai!" Someone waved from a nearby table.
"I've got to get back to work." Mai waved to them, "Enjoy your dinners."
"Does Yuki-kun have his pills?" Tooru poured Yuki a glass of water and set it in front of him.
He'd eaten about half a peach so far, carefully chewing and swallowing each bite. Yuki closed his eyes and slumped back against the booth. The pills were upstairs in one of the bags.
"I'll get them." Kyou said shortly. He glared at Tooru. "You eat!"
"I can get them." Yuki said and tried to rise.
Kyou smacked him on the shoulder, making him yelp loud enough to draw the entire restaurant's attention. "I said I'd get them! Stop being a freakin' hero!" He jabbed a finger at Tooru. "And you EAT!"
"Vitamins." Yuki managed as Kyou was almost past the booth. The family in the neighboring booth watched them like they were prime time TV. "There are vitamins in the same bag, we're supposed to take them twice a day. All of us."
Kyou snorted. "I'll get them too."
"Is Kyou-kun mad?" Tooru asked as she obediently took a bite of salad. He'd been in such a good mood today.
"He's a stupid cat." Yuki said shortly, his shoulder felt like he'd been slapped by a cement fist, not a flesh and blood hand he'd avoided a thousand times. "Who knows what goes on in that brain?"
"I think maybe he's upset that Yuki-kun is hurt." Tooru said. She looked away from him. "It is scary."
"I think you're giving him too much credit, Honda-san." Yuki said, supremely uncomfortable with this conversation. "I don't think much goes on in his head at all."
"That's not very nice." Tooru chided gently. "Kyou-kun is very smart and caring."
Yuki frowned, fiddling with the fork. He knew he was pouting and acting juvenile, but his whole body hurt. Was it too much to ask to have her just pay attention to him and to forget the baka neko for a while? Why was he supposed to care why the cat got so cranky and violent?
Kyou ducked quickly up the stairs nodding to Hiroki and Ginta. Kazuya had come back and was working over the sink, busy enough that he didn't even look up. He pawed through the bags until he found one that rattled like beads. He peeked inside and made a face. He hated taking medicine. He looked at the pill bottle that held Yuki's pain medicine, it recommended eating with food, and that it be taken every four hours. The rat's last dose must've been completely worn off by now.
He walked down the stairs a bit slower, feeling guilty now for smacking him so hard on his injured shoulder. The Rat must've been really out of it, because he hadn't blocked the strike at all. Kyou waved the bottles at the men in the kitchen on his way back out and tried to tell himself that the Rat deserved it for all the times he'd sent him flying over the years.
He slapped the bottles down on the table in front of Yuki and slid in to the booth's other side. Tooru reached for them and opened the pain medication first. She handed Yuki the dosage and he swallowed it down. She made a face as she sorted out vitamins for all of them.
"These taste very bad." Tooru told Kyou in a whisper, handing him his vitamins.
She looked so serious he couldn't help but smirk a little bit.
"They really do." Tooru said, mistaking his expression. She made a face at them and put them in her mouth. She took a quick swig of water and then started coughing as she choked.
"Are you okay?" Yuki asked, distracted from his pain for a minute.
"Y-yes." Tooru said after taking another quick sip of water. "They just went down the wrong pipe."
"You're such a little kid." Kyou said. "Can't even take a little pill." He took one of the vitamins and threw it in his mouth. His face twisted up and he spat it out in his hand. "Ugh! That's disgusting!"
"Now who's the kid?" Yuki gave a weak laugh. The pain medicine hadn't really kicked in yet, but just knowing the relief was coming helped.
"I didn't think it would be that gross!" Kyou looked at the pill accusingly before tossing it in his mouth and swallowing a big gulp of water. He took a big bite of his chicken to get the taste out of his mouth. "That's nasty."
Tooru relaxed and ate her meal, feeling comfortable sitting between them. She knew that people in the restaurant were still sneaking peeks at them, especially as the dinner rush progressed, but shielded by Yuki and Kyou it didn't bother her. Mai's Oyakadon was good, filling and comforting. Though, she thought, she would have added a little less onion and a little more daishi. When the bowl had been put in front of her, she hadn't been certain she could finish it. Now she scrabbled at the bottom of the bowl with her chopsticks for the last speck of rice.
She sat back and took a deep breath. She got the feeling she had probably just wolfed down her food. She discreetly wiped her mouth with a napkin and glanced around to see if anyone had noticed. Kyou was still attacking his own dinner, having moved on from the chicken to the ginger dressing salad. He was eating with a single mindedness that gave the impression he might attack if someone tried to move his plate. He was all sharp edges. Like her and Yuki, the mountain had shaved off all the softness to his features. It hurt to see him like this.
Distracting herself by pouring a glass of water, Tooru shifted her attention to Yuki. His coloring had bounced back; he was no longer greenish white. His movements weren't as stiff and fragile looking. He'd eaten his meal backwards, eating his peaches and then salad before moving to the Oyakadon, so he had his appetite back as well.
He noticed her watching and smiled, resting his chopsticks. "I saved Honda-san a slice of peach if she'd like it." He said, holding out the bowl to her. "Thank you very much for thinking to ask for these, I enjoyed them very much."
Tooru took the bowl as the peace offering it was, his apology for being short with her earlier. "Oh, but I don't have a fork." She'd feel silly eating it with her chopsticks and it was too sticky to eat with her fingers. "May I use Yuki-kun's?"
Yuki felt his cheeks heat. He felt incredibly immature, but the thought of her lips being where his had been... "Here." He said and handed her the fork. He knew he was going even brighter red as he watched her spear the fruit with the fork and take a bite. He looked away, embarrassed that his mind could turn something so simple into something so...adult.
"Now Yuki-kun is red." Tooru said, finishing up the peach slice. She licked her lips to get the last of the sticky juice off of them before moving closer to check his temperature. "Does it hurt very much?" She reached for his forehead but when he started to recoil, put her hand on his forearm instead.
Yuki watched her tongue dart out over her lips and, at least for an instant, was completely distracted from the pain in his back and shoulder. "Uhhhh..." He said intelligently. There were moments in every young man's life when the base nature of being a man just took over without warning, flooding the body with inappropriate thoughts and images. This was one of them.
Kyou snorted, watching Yuki's color deepen to a bright purple and able to imagine what the rat was thinking. "Maybe he needs a massage."
Yuki's eyes widened, remembering that morning up in the shack.
"I used to give my mother shoulder massages." Tooru nodded earnestly. "If it would help Yuki-kun I could give it a try."
"No." Yuki managed to get out, "I'm fine, I'm fine."
"Everyone seems to be feeling better!" Mai said as she walked past with a full tray of food. She served a nearby table, and then came back to their booth. "Does anyone want seconds? Dessert maybe?"
The three exchanged glances, but Tooru spoke for all of them. "No, thank you, Mai-san. We've had plenty." She was feeling uncomfortably full now that her stomach had time to settle.
"You all just leave your plates and go on upstairs and rest then." Mai smiled. She was about to say more when two patrons called her name. She sighed. "Just a moment!" she answered and shook her head. "Usually things have died down a bit by now..."
"We can carry our own plates in." Tooru said, starting to gather them up. She didn't give Mai a chance to protest. "We're going into the kitchen anyway so it's not a bother."
"That's sweet of you." Mai said distractedly. "Coming! Please just wait a moment," she called to a family that had just stepped through the door. "But don't be afraid to speak up if you need something."
"You coming, Nezumi?" Kyou asked, gathering up his plates. Yuki was the only one who hadn't moved.
Yuki shifted in his seat. The pain had largely faded, but he wasn't sure if he wanted to move yet. The twisting he'd have to do get out of the booth would hurt.
"Yuki-kun hasn't finished his dinner." Tooru said looking in his bowl.
He was full, but he seized on the excuse. If nothing else, he didn't want Tooru to be in the room when he had to embarrassingly inch his way out of his seat. "I'll finish up and meet Honda-san upstairs." Just shifting back and forth in his seat sent flares of pain lancing across his back. He was starting to worry that he'd done something to make his injuries worse, it hadn't hurt this much last night, even before he'd taken his medicine.
"Does Yuki-kun want me to wait with him?" Tooru asked.
"No, thank you, Honda-san." Yuki smiled, not wanting her to worry. When she hesitated he looked at the table, "But would you mind taking in my peach bowl and salad plate? I don't know if I'll be able to manage everything when I'm done."
Eager to help, she smiled and added them to her pile. "Yuki-kun should take his time."
Above her head Kyou caught Yuki's eye and patted his pants pocket. "Now?" He mouthed.
Yuki gave a small shake of his head. Tooru turned to look at Kyou and the cat scowled.
"What!?" He picked up his plates, scooped up the medicine bottles, and stomped towards the kitchen. "Are you coming?"
"Ah, yes!" Tooru jogged after him, confusion clear.
Kyou pushed his way into the kitchen and looked around.
"Finished?" Ginta said moving around the grill and only sparing them a glance. "Go ahead and put your dishes in the sink."
Kazuya looked up, sweaty and up to his elbows in suds and dirty dishes. "Over here." He said tiredly.
"Next order's ready to go!" Hiroki said, sliding two covered bowls into the delivery box.
Kazuya wiped his forehead with a sudsy wrist. "Coming."
Kyou and Tooru slid their dishes into the sink and tried to stay out of their way.
Mai poked her head into the kitchen. "Do we have more onigiri yet? The Yawara's are still waiting on theirs."
Hiroki swore. "No, sorry, I was prepping vegetables. I'll get started on them now."
Ginta looked up. "I'm going to need onion, radish and more cabbage in a few minutes."
"I've only got two hands." Hiroki said blandly, but hurried to the counter and laid out the vegetables. "I'll get to them in a minute."
"I can make the onigiri." Tooru offered. Mai, Ginta and Hiroki turned to look at her, they'd obviously forgotten she and Kyou were still in the kitchen.
"You ought to be resting." Mai said shaking her head.
"But Mai-san, Ginta-san and Hiroki-san need help." Tooru said insistantly, "Everyone has done so much for us." Kyou sighed. She had her determined face on, and he wasn't like Yuki, he couldn't think of just what to say to make her agree to go upstairs. Besides it made sense for them to repay the Iwaya's somehow for all the charity they'd given them.
"She's good at cooking." Kyou said. Tooru gave him a bright smile. "She made all the onigiri for our class cafe last year, and we won first place."
"Please." Tooru asked pleadingly, "It doesn't feel right not to help when it's something I can do."
"Let me see you make some." Ginta said and gestured to the rice cooker. "Make one with nori, white rice and plum, a sesame one and one wrapped in lettuce." He kept watching her out of the corner of his eye as he continued cooking on the grill.
Tooru washed her hands quickly and started to reach for the rice.
"Gloves." Ginta gestured to a box of plastic gloves. "You have to use gloves in a restaurant."
"Oh, yes, sorry."
Tooru quickly slipped a pair on and let Hiroki lead her over to where
the ingredients were laid out. He stepped back and started cutting up
the vegetables that Ginta needed, but all eyes were trained on Tooru.
Ignoring their stares she quickly formed the familiar triangle shape
of the onigiri and in no time had a set of perfectly
formed
riceballs waiting for inspection.
Ginta looked them over closely. "Looks good." He nodded. "Tie back your hair, make about twenty of each type." It was the cue for everyone to start breathing again. Hiroki brought Ginta over his vegetables and started cooking the next order. Mai went out front to tell the Yawaras their onigiri would be just a moment longer in the making.
Tooru took off her gloves and quickly tied her hair back in two long ponytails. She felt something settle on her head and peered up at Hiroki. "Welcome to the crew!" He patted the round beanie he'd put on her head and it slipped over her eyes. She pushed it up with the heel of her hand and grinned happily before putting on a fresh set of gloves and going back to work.
Kyou watched her start on the onigiri with mixed feelings. He wanted her to rest, she still looked haggard and wan. But right now she was shining and happy and looking more comfortable then she had since they'd gotten into town. There was no trace of fear, no hint of uncertainty, and she was smiling He shuffled his feet wondering what he should do now, wait for the Rat to finish his dinner or go hang out upstairs by himself? Wait here and watch Tooru work and do nothing?
"Hiroki-san?" Tooru said, looking up from a line of onigiri she'd prepared.
"What do you need?" Hiroki paused his knife.
"Um," Tooru looked around her. "Plate?"
"Oh, yeah, we need a platter for those." He looked around at a shelf behind him and frowned.
The back door opened and Kazuya walked into the kitchen. He dropped the delivery boxes on the counter and collapsed on the stairs to the upstairs. Hiroki reached into the fridge and tossed him a bottle of water.
"Don't get too comfortable," Ginta said, not without sympathy. "We've had three calls since you've been gone."
"Aaaaah." Kazuya groaned. "Is this night ever going to end?"
"It's only seven." Hiroki chuckled, "We haven't even hit the peak of dinner rush." He slid a plate of chopped chicken in reach of Ginta. "Hey, do we have any serving platters clean?"
"No... I was just getting to them before I left." Kazuya levered himself up and started rolling up his sleeves. "Just a minute and I'll wash a couple."
"I'll do it." Kyou said, pushing himself off of the wall by the stairs. Everyone looked at him. "What?" He said sullenly. "I can wash dishes."
"Thank you Kyou-kun." Tooru smiled. "I need a platter this size." She made a miming motion with her hands.
"They're stacked by size." Kazuya said slumping back to his seat gratefully. "Thanks, I owe you."
Tooru started humming as Kyou dug his hands into the plates and started scrubbing. He glanced over at her and caught her looking over at him. She smiled and he flushed and turned back to his plates. Maybe it wasn't much, but scrubbing plates made him feel useful, and it made her smile at him so he supposed that was something. He wondered what was taking the kuso nezumi so long.
Yuki sighed and felt some of the tension run out of his body. He had to be strong in front of Tooru if he didn't want her to fret. He twisted slightly side to side, trying to figure out what his range of motion was. The good sign was that his ribs didn't hurt any more then they did before, so at least he didn't have to worry about them being broken. But his back...
"This seat taken?"
Yuki started and looked up. "Doctor Kitagawa?" He looked around.
"Mai didn't call me, I came for dinner." The doctor said soothingly. He slid into the booth across from Yuki. "But when I came in she did mentioned to seemed to be having some trouble."
Yuki sighed. He glanced around again, making sure that Tooru had gone into the kitchen. "It... It hurts more then it did yesterday. My back, not my ribs." Yuki was annoyed that his voice came out sounding much more scared then he intended.
"That's not all that surprising." Kitagawa said, scratching at the side of his mouth. "You were in shock yesterday, that can cover all sorts of ills."
"Shock?" Wasn't that why Tooru was acting so hysterical yesterday? What did that have to do with him?
Kitagawa smiled as Mai brought him some tea and a menu. "No need for that. You know what I want."
Mai glanced between Kitagawa and Yuki, obviously wanting listen in. "I'll get Ginta right on that." She said and reluctantly turned her attention to the busy restaurant.
"Shock is a broad term. Your girl," Yuki blushed at the doctor referring to Tooru that way, "had something of a serious case of shock to help her deal with a frightening situation. Shock and adrenaline are our bodies' way of coping with hard situations until we have time to deal with them safely." Kitagawa sipped on his tea. "Yesterday your body was masking the pain you were in to let you get into town and take care of your friends. But there is a time limit to such things... and you are at the end of yours." He looked at Yuki seriously. "I don't believe your injuries are any worse then they were yesterday, unless you have done something particularly foolish today. But I would feel better about it if you came into the office and let me take some x-rays. If cost is an issue, you wouldn't have to worry about payment."
Yuki looked down at the table. Doctor's visits left records, and that they were trying to avoid. But it wasn't as if there was a single person in this town who probably didn't know about them already...
"I can come in tomorrow." Yuki said feeling defeated. The truth was that he was scared. All of their plans hinged on them being healthy and able to work. What kind of burden would he put on Tooru and Kyou if he were really hurt?
Kitagawa smiled, "That is a very smart move. Now tell me what you did today and we'll figure out why the pain might have increased."
Yuki gave him a quick rundown of the day's events.
"Did you do your stretches this morning? Or when you returned?" Kitagawa asked.
Yuki winced. "It hurt too much when we got back, and this morning..."
"You forgot." Kitagawa smiled as Mai brought him a plate of food. "How are you feeling now? The medication should be in full effect now."
Yuki blinked and took inventory. "It still hurts to bend too far." But he was sure he could move out of the booth without too much trouble now.
"Tomorrow we'll do some mobilizations to find out what your true range is. For now, listen to your body. If you get a sharp pain, stop. Don't lift anything you don't have to with that shoulder."
Yuki nodded and slid out of the booth. "Yes, sir. Thank you for your time. I'll let you eat your dinner." He wasn't looking forward to telling Kyou that he'd agreed to go to the doctor's, but at least it might help alleviate some of Tooru's worries. He went to go find them and get it over with.
He only got as far as the podium when Mai almost ran right into him. Only long training and experience as a junninshi member kept them from colliding. Yuki stepped nimbly out of her way, and kept her from upsetting the tray she was carrying.
"Oh, I'm sorry!" Mai said, her tight curled hair looking frizzy and her cheeks red. She regained her footing. The phone on the podium rang and she almost upset the tray she was carrying trying to answer it.
"Mai, should we just seat ourselves?" A pair of elderly women waited by the podium. Yuki looked over and saw there were quite a few people waiting to be seated.
Mai put her hand over the receiver. "There's a table back that way." She tried to gesture with her chin. "I'm sorry, could you repeat that?" She said into the phone.
The women exchanged glances and peered into the restaurant trying to figure out where Mai had been gesturing.
"This way." Yuki said, his added height allowing him to see the empty table. He gestured for them to follow him. "I think she meant this one." He smiled politely at them and pulled out one of the chairs.
"Thank you, young man." The shorter of the two ladies said settling into the chair.
He helped the second lady into her chair and turned to leave, passing Mai as she served her tray of food to a table. "Thank you for helping." Mai started to smile, but it quickly faded when the phone rang again. "That phone! It hasn't stopped since-"
"Mai!" A hand waved from a table. "Could we get-"
"Is it seat yourself tonight, Mai?" Someone called impatiently from the doorway. Mai looked back and forth between the podium and the ringing phone, the customers at the table and the growing crowd by the door.
Yuki looked around, there weren't any clean tables left. There were a couple of tables with dirty plates scattered around the restaurant. "Let me help Mai-san." Yuki said quickly, "I'll get the phone and tell the people by the door to wait."
"Thank you." Mai said, blowing out an exasperated breath and starting to move towards the customers at the table. "Oh, after you've taken that order, please take it and this to Ginta in the kitchen." She tore off an order on the top of her pad and pressed it into his hand. "Tell the people at the door we just have to clear some tables."
Yuki hurried over to the podium and smiled charmingly at the upset people waiting in the doorway. "Just a moment please." He said and picked up the phone. "Yes, how may I help you?"
"Is this Kazuya?" A confused voice asked. "Did I dial the right number, this is the Iwaya's restaurant?"
"This is, I'm just helping out." Yuki answered looking around the podium for something to write with. "May I help you?"
"Okay." The voice sounded doubtful, "We'd like to order for delivery."
"Yes." Yuki said finding an order pad and pen under the main podium. "Tonight they are only serving from the combination menu."
"Thats fine. We'd like a Set B and a Set D, to be delivered to the Matsumoto's."
"Set B and Set D." Yuki wrote down. "Yes, um... address?"
"Kazuya still doing the deliveries?" The voice sounded amused.
"Yes?" Yuki said, looking up as the door opened and even more people crowded into the entryway.
"He'll know the address then." The person on the other end hung up and Yuki looked at the phone wryly.
"Is it going to be long?" Someone called from the back of the crowd in the doorway.
Yuki looked up, it seemed like the crowd had doubled while he was on the phone. He glanced over at dining floor. Mai was frantically trying to clear some tables.
"It will be a little while." Yuki grabbed some menus from the podium and handed them out to the waiting crowd. "It's just the combination dinners tonight if you want to look over the menu as you wait."
There were grumbles but the accepted the menus. Yuki turned into the kitchen, wincing as his back caught a little when he moved too quickly.
"Hey Yuki." Kazuya said lifting two delivery boxes, "Bye Yuki!" He grinned and walked out the door.
"Did Yuki-kun finish his dinner?" Tooru smiled from the counter. She'd finished the onigiri and was arranging them on a freshly washed platter from Kyou.
Yuki blinked at her. "Er, yes, um..." He looked around and found Ginta, "Excuse me Sir, Mai-san asked me to give this to you... and someone called in an order too... for delivery, but they didn't leave an address."
Ginta wiped his hands on his apron. "Who did? Oh, Matsumoto's, no problem." He took the slips and stabbed them onto a spike by the grill. "Busy out there?" He asked Yuki and then turned to Hiroki. "Set E, Set C, Set A, and another Set B and Set D to go."
"I'll prep 'em. Hey," Hiroki tapped Tooru's head. "You mind slicing some carrots?"
"No!" She followed him over to the counter smiled as the cook set the carrots and knife in front of her.
"When you're done with those, let me know and I'll give you something else to cut up."
Ginta cleared his throat and Yuki started, realizing he'd been watching Tooru instead of answering his question. "It's very busy. There aren't any clear tables and Mai-san is having trouble keeping up..."
"When Kazuya gets back tell him to go clear some tables before his next order." Ginta said to Hiroki.
"That's going to be at least a half hour from now." Hiroki said. "Want me to go out and clear them?"
"I can go." Kyou said. "I'm almost done here."
"If you don't mind helping," Ginta said, "We'd appreciate it. There's a tub by the sink to carry the dishes in."
Yuki looked at Kyou as he passed with the tub. "You're helping?"
Kyou shrugged."I just did some dishes."
"Honda-san too?" Yuki said looking at Tooru happily slicing up carrots.
The cat shrugged again. "She wanted to help."
Yuki frowned. "She should be resting."
Kyou shook his head. "She had that face."
"Face?" Yuki asked. "You mean that one?" Yuki knew "that look" well, that determined expression that there was no arguing with.
"Yeah." Kyou said shortly.
"Okay." Yuki sighed. "I'll tell Mai-san you're clearing the tables, so she knows she doesn't have to." He glanced at Tooru before he left the kitchen. She grinned and waved to him, sliding the carrots onto a plate. Hiroki handed her some radishes and she went back to cutting away. Yuki shook his head, bemused, and followed Kyou back into the restaurant. Tooru always looked happiest when she was keeping busy. He shouldn't be so surprised.
The phone rang as he passed the podium and he looked around for Mai. She was in the back of the restaurant. She looked up worriedly. He gestured that he'd answer it and took the phone message. It was another delivery, and another person who sounded amused when he asked for an address.
"Is it going to be much longer?"
Yuki looked up to see a frazzled looking woman standing with two worn out looking children. A man he assumed was her husband stood behind her, looking tired and holding a third child. Kyou looked back into the restaurant, and could see that Kyou had finished clearing one table and had moved on to the next.
"This way." Yuki said and led them back to the table. He still had the order pad in his hand from the podium. He looked at the family, exhausted and looking back at him expectantly. "Um, do you know what you'd like to order?"
The woman smiled brilliantly. "Yes, thank you!" She said and eagerly placed their order.
Yuki copied it down. Then turned to find Mai.
She was pouring tea for a table, and still looking harried. She turned when he called her name.
"Mai-san, Kyou is clearing the tables..." Yuki gestured to where the redhead was cleaning off a table. "And Honda-san is helping in the kitchen. I took a couple orders..." He handed her the slips. He looked around. The crowd was still piling up in the doorway and all around the restaurant he could see people who looked like they had questions or were waiting for checks. He heard the phone start to ring up at the podium. "I'll get that for Mai-san." He he looked down at her hands, she had more orders in her hands. "Let me take those into the kitchen for you."
"Oh, but you all shouldn't be..."
"Mai-san said it herself, it's our responsibility to help each other out." Yuki gave her his most perfect prince-like smile and she blushed. He took the slips from her hand. He turned trying to keep a smirk to himself. This felt good, he was finally doing something useful!
He ducked into the kitchen and put the orders on the spike. Tooru waved at him and he smiled. He carried that smile up to the podium, charming the crowd into patience with menus and promises of tables. He kept track of the tables Kyou cleared and kept people moving briskly into them.
He answered the phone when it rang, and kept orders flowing into the kitchen. It was a lot like handling school events, listening to what people needed and making sure they got it. If you kept a smile on your face, even when it was busy, people smiled back at you.
He led a couple back to a table he'd thought had been cleared. There were a couple plates on the table. He looked around for Kyou, but he was nowhere to be found. He sighed, he'd wanted to get back into the kitchen to check on Tooru. She'd been making onigiri and looking exhausted last time he'd been in and he wanted to try to get her to stop for the night. His back was starting to hurt again and he remembered he hadn't told Tooru and Kyou about agreeing to meet with the doctor tomorrow.
"I'm sorry." He said irritably to the couple. "I thought this table had been cleared, please wait just a moment while I get rid of these." He started picking up the plates. He reached for one on the far side and cried out as he moved the wrong way and his whole back seized, locking him in place.
"Kuso Nezumi!" Kyou sneered. He set his tub on the table and grabbed the plates. "I thought you were the smart one. Quit doing stupid stuff." He roughly helped Yuki back on his feet. "If you hurt yourself worse, she's just gonna get upset."
Yuki flushed. "Sorry for trying to help you do your job!" He said angrily. "There were people waiting."
"Well, sorry if I'm not moving fast enough!" Kyou said hefting the tub to his hip. "It's a little harder then smiling and writing on pieces of paper!"
"But perfectly suited to your intelligence." Yuki said coldly, embarrassed by his current state of disability. "I know you have trouble with the alphabet, so some of the sets might be beyond you. Did you ever get past C?"
The crowd in the restaurant was listening closely to their argument with interest, but the boys were oblivious. Both were tired and frustrated and ready for a fight.
Kyou flushed stepping closer. "Nezumi-"
"Kyou-kun!" Tooru called coming out of the kitchen with a glass of water and looking around. The boys stepped apart and turned towards her. She broke into a smile at the sight of them. "Kyou-kun, we're running short on small plates."
"This is the last table to clear." Kyou said quickly grabbing the last plate off the table. "I'll have some clean in a few minutes."
"Thank you Kyou-kun!" Tooru smiled yawning. "Kazuya-san is back, but Ginta-san sent him up to bed. He looked like he was going to fall over."
Kyou pulled the white beanie she was still wearing over her eyes. "You should rest soon too." He walked past her and patted her on the head so the hat slipped further down until the brim nearly touched her nose.
Tooru giggled as she pushed it back up.
Yuki smiled. She looked tired, but he couldn't remember the last time she looked so happy. She smiled up at him.
"He's right." Yuki said, "You should rest."
"Soon." Tooru smiled. "I brought this for Yuki-kun." She handed him the glass of water. "Yuki-kun almost forgot to take his medicine again, it's supposed to be every four hours." She pressed a pill into his hand.
"Has it been that long already?" Yuki asked, surprised. Tooru nodded and watched when he took the pill.
"Yuki-kun should rest soon too. And he should remember to take his medicine," Tooru scolded. He handed her the glass back and she let her fingers linger over his hand as she took it. "When I see Yuki-kun in pain... I don't like it." Tooru said looking down, clutching the glass between two hands, and looking up at him through her lashes. "It's scary." She whispered.
"I'm sorry," He apologized. "Doctor Kitagawa was here today, I promised I'd go see him tomorrow for x-rays, so Honda-san doesn't have to worry, alright?"
Tooru glowed. "Thank you Yuki-kun! Oh, also, Ginta-san said no more deliveries tonight."
Yuki nodded, "Alright. Honda-san is going to rest then?"
"Yes, soon." Tooru nodded. "When Yuki-kun and Kyou-kun are done." She looked towards the kitchen. "There are a lot of dishes left, I'm going to go help Kyou-kun."
"Alright." Yuki said watching her go. There was a soft cough behind him and he started. He blushed bright red. The couple was still standing behind him waiting to be seated. "I'm so sorry to keep you waiting. Please sit. Do you know what you want to order?" He took down their order and escaped. For the first time there wasn't anyone waiting to be seated and no ringing phone.
He wandered around the restaurant floor making sure everyone had everything they needed. He passed Hiroki and Mai sitting at a booth grabbing a quick bite.
"Oi, sit down for a minute." Hiroki waved him over. "We put the closed sign up, so it's just taking care of the people we've got now."
"Thank you." Yuki said settling into booth. Once he was down he wasn't sure if he'd be able to get back up again. His whole body ached, and his feet hurt in an interesting way he'd never felt before. He closed his eyes. Well, he'd never really "worked" a day in his life either. Even up in the mountain hadn't been the same. People did things like this every day? Tooru had done things like this and gone to school and kept house for them. He really was a useless person.
"Ginta-san sent out some tea."
Yuki opened his eyes to see Tooru smiling down at him. He straightened up in his seat. She set the tray with the tea down and set cups in front of Hiroki, Mai and Yuki and poured them tea. She poured an extra cup and sat down next to Yuki with a pleased sigh. She swung her feet a little as she sipped her tea. She looked worn, and just as weary as he was, but she was smiling. She looked up and caught him staring at her.
"Doesn't Yuki-kun want tea?" She looked at his untouched cup. "Is Yuki-kun's stomach bothering him again? Yuki-kun didn't eat anything when he took his medicine."
"No, that's not it." He said softly, too tired to even quickly reassure her. "I was just thinking how amazing Honda-san is."
Tooru's mouth parted, and her face went from peachy-pink to scarlet. "What? I mean... that is... Amazing? I'm not-"
"So very amazing." Yuki interrupted and pushed the hat down over her eyes. He was lightheaded and the world was hazy.
Tooru pushed the hat up, goggling at Yuki. He pushed it back down. "Peek-a-boo." He said.
Hiroki coughed. "Um, you got that medicine bottle of his on you?" He asked Tooru. She fumbled in her pocket for it and handed it over the table. Hiroki peered at it. "Yup... I bet he's feelin' pretty happy right now, that's a pretty powerful dosage to take on an empty stomach." He took an onigiri off his plate and shook it at Yuki. "You'd better eat one of these before you fall over."
"I'm not hungry." Yuki said politely. He was fascinated by Tooru's hair. He tugged on a lock of it. "You're wearing my ribbons, I love when you do that. I'm no good at anything, but Honda-san can do anything. That's really amazing."
Tooru looked at Yuki. He was smiling at her so sweetly that she was speechless.
"Hey, kid." Hiroki said, drawing Yuki's attention. "Tooru made this. You should eat it." He looked amused. "This is cute and all, but I don't want to have to carry you upstairs when you pass out."
"Honda-san makes the best onigiri." Yuki said agreeably, taking the riceball and taking a bite. He smiled at her as he ate it.
"Nothing to worry about." Hiroki said handing Tooru the bottle back. "The pill's just making him a little loopy. Probably a combination of lack of food, how skinny you all are, and lack of sleep. He'll be out like a light as soon as he lies down."
"Oi." Kyou came up to the table, his shirt sweat stained and his hair standing on end from being over a steamy sink all night. "Is there tea left?" He glanced around, there were only one or two people still eating. He lifted up the edge of his shirt to wipe the perspiration off his face.
"Yes," Tooru smiled inching over to let him into the booth and poured him a cup. "Kyou-kun finished all the dishes?"
"Everything that was in there now." He sighed. "Ginta said he's closing the grill, so I should come out here and sit down." He sat down and sniffed loudly. "I feel gross."
"Kyou-kun worked hard." Tooru nodded as he slipped in close to her, sandwiching her between him and Yuki.
"I stink." Kyou complained, wrinkling his nose before taking a sip of his tea. "Sorry."
"I don't mind it." Tooru said softly, flushing. She could smell him, a musky scent that was Kyou, spice, hard work and steam. She rested her head on his shoulder. She kind of liked it, it reminded her of the mornings he'd sit by her at Shigure's after he'd gone on his morning runs.
Kyou stiffened, "Don't do that! I'm filthy."
"Kazuya took a bath before he went to bed." Mai said looking at them indulgently. "The bath water should be ready if you want to wash up before you sleep." She looked over. "It looks like they're ready to pay. Good work everyone."
"Yes, thank you." Tooru smiled. She looked up at the boy by her side. "Kyou-kun can go first."
"N-nah..." He stuttered, she was awfully close. "You can. The rat and I can go at the same time." He hid his face in his teacup.
"I don't know if you want to put that fella in a bath." Hiroki said looking at Yuki with narrowed eyes. "He might drown."
"I'm a very good swimmer." Yuki said cracking an eye. "It's Honda-san who doesn't know how to breathe when swimming. And of course, the baka neko hates the water." He closed his eyes. "That's why he smells."
Kyou stared at the rat. He half rose in his seat. "What the-!"
Tooru put a hand to his arm. "Yuki-kun isn't himself."
"That medicine really knocked him for a loop." Hiroki said, his amusement plain. "He was giving our little kitchen helper here all sorts of compliments."
"He was?" Kyou settled back into his seat. "Like what?" He glared at the rat. He'd thought they sort of had an understanding from last night and this morning, no pressuring Tooru to choose. So it wasn't pressure, but trying to charm her into liking him more (!) the rat was dirtier then he thought.
"Said she was a-maze-ing." Hiroki sing-songed wagging a finger back and forth as he stood and gathered his and Mai's empty plates. Kyou glared at Yuki. Hiroki stretched "I'm glad to see the end of this day. I'll leave you kids alone."
"I like being alone with Honda-san." Yuki nodded, having finished his onigiri. "Better than anything." Tooru hid her face in her hands. "Please, no peek-a-boo now."
"Yuki-kun," Tooru said softly, peeking over her fingers. "Why does Yuki-kun say he's no good at anything?" She whispered. "He's good at everything he does."
"Yes I am." Yuki smiled. "I'm useless." He twined his fingers in her hair again. "I can't catch a fish, or do useful work, or even buy the right groceries."
"Yuki-kun isn't useless." Tooru whispered, shivering at the feel of his fingers brushing at the back of his neck. "Yuki-kun is the smartest person I know, one of the bravest too."
"Mmmm..." Yuki said, "Honda-san it too forgiving." He leaned back against he booth and closed his eyes. "I've done so many bad things to her and she still looks at me like I'm worth something. Honda-san is amazing." Yuki said opening his eyes and frowning at Hiroki as he walked away towards the kitchen. He looked at Kyou. "She never complains. Never. Ever. Never-ever. Not even after I lost the picture of her mother. I can't do anything, but that doesn't seem to bother Honda-san."
"Yuki-kun can do a lot of things." Tooru protested. "And Mother... " she looked down, "... it's alright."
"Ne, Kyou," Yuki said, pushing himself upright. "I think, now." He peered at Tooru and after a moments deliberation, pushed her hat down so it covered her eyes again.
"Now?" Kyou's hand went to his pants pocket and he looked around. Mai was ushering the last customers out the door, Hiroki and Ginta were in the kitchen, they were about as alone as they could get.
Tooru pushed up her hat and looked between them. "Now?" She asked plaintively. They'd been talking "around" her all day, she'd suspected they were keeping secrets. She knew they talked about her sometimes, and worried about her, but this was a different feeling. She didn't like it.
"We've been keeping a secret." Yuki said. "Almost all day." He smiled like a little child. "We kept it from Honda-san!" He tapped her on the nose.
"You have?" Tooru looked cross-eyed at him. She glanced up at Kyou. He was blushing. "Why?"
"We... uh..." Kyou started awkwardly, Tooru's big eyes fixed on him and he stammered to a stop. He glanced past her shoulder at the unnerving sight of Yuki twirling her hair around a finger.
"I failed Honda-san." Yuki interrupted, leaning his forehead against her back. "I tried to get her Mother's picture, but...it was lost. But we found something... or rather, Kyou found something and I agreed we should buy it."
"Here." Kyou said standing up and reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a small box and thrust it at her.
Tooru glanced behind her as best she could at the warm weight on her back and then up at Kyou. A present? They'd bought her a present. But they had so little money as it was... "But-"
"Just open it!" Kyou said shortly, his cheeks blazing. "If you don't like it we can take it back. But open it first."
Tooru opened the box up and lifted out a delicate silver bracelet. A twinkle of red caught her eye and she held up the bracelet so that it caught the light. There was a silver and rhinestone charm glittering off of a link near the clasp. "It's beautiful." She said, confused. Jewelry?
"That damn yankee, and that denpa, I remember what they said." Kyou said, "The stories they told. About your mom I mean."
Tooru flinched at the mention of Uo-chan and Hana-chan. Then she blinked and looked back at the charm. A red butterfly.
"That's what they used to call her, right? Your mom? Red Butterfly?"
She was hearing his voice from a distance, entranced by the twinkling of the red stones. Her mouth moved, but her lips were numb. "They said her tail lights blinked like a red butterfly." She looked up at Kyou.
"Are you crying?" Kyou said angrily. "Crying!" He got down on his knees to be eye level with her. "That's not fair! If we do something nice you're not supposed to cry." He pleaded with her. "If you don't like it we'll bring it back, okay?"
Tooru clutched it tight. "No!"
"Honda-san doesn't like it?" Yuki said, moving away from her. His head was aching. He was coming back to himself, and was horribly embarrassed. Peek-a-boo? "I know it's not the same as the picture. But we thought it would be a way to keep your mother with you."
Tooru hunched over her hands, tears coursing down her cheeks. "Thank you, thank you so much." She'd really tried hard not to show how much she'd been upset at losing the photo. Logically, weighing the photo against Yuki's life and all they'd gone through that night she'd give up the photo a thousand times, a million times. But still, there would be times during the day she'd think "I have to tell Mom about this" and she'd have to remember that it was gone and it would hurt all over again. How was it they always knew what she tried to hide?
"Then you do like it?" Kyou asked, pushing her hair back from her face. "Then why are you crying?"
"Because I love it so much!" Tooru sobbed.
"It's nothing that special." Yuki said rubbing his temples. "It's just rhinestones, I don't even think it's really silver." He couldn't handle her tears, even if they were for a "good" reason. "Someday, when we have more money... we'll buy you a better one."
"No!" Tooru said emphatically. "It has to be this one." She scrubbed her eyes. "Would Yuki-kun help me put it on?"
Yuki helped her clip it around her wrist and she held it up and watched it twinkle. "Kyou-kun found this?" She said looking down at him. He sat on his haunches looking up at her.
"Yeah...well, I saw the charm, and I thought, you know, that it'd be a way to keep her with you kinda. But the Rat," Kyou glanced at Yuki, sitting behind her, "He was the one who picked out the bracelet, said it'd be okay to buy." He didn't know why he'd tossed that in, the Rat had been complimenting her and getting, all he could think of was snuggly, with her. But it just wasn't right to take credit for something that had really been something they did together.
"Thank you, thank you both." She looked back and forth between them, tearing up again.
"Honda-san," Yuki said softly, now wholly down from his medicated high, or at least sobered enough by her tears to jump start his brain into proper functions. "What this really is," He reached out and took her wrist, stroking the bracelet, "is an apology."
"Apology?"
"We've taken everything from Honda-san." Yuki said glancing at Kyou as he took her other hand. "Your friends, school, even your home... now more then once."
Tooru started to shake her head, but Yuki didn't let her interrupt. "We couldn't, I couldn't, even save a picture of your Mother." He looked down. "I really am useless." He looked back up at her, looking determined. "But I'm not going to stay that way. Kyou and I," he glanced at Kyou again and he nodded, "We've made a promise. We aren't going to let Honda-san be hurt again, we won't take anything else away from you. We're going to try to give as much as we can back to you."
"Do you understand?" Kyou said. "You don't have to be afraid anymore."
"So this is a promise." Tooru said clutching their hands tight. "That Yuki-kun and Kyou-kun will stay with me?"
Yuki and Kyou shared a surprised look. "Honda-san," Yuki said carefully. "Neither of us want to leave you. But someday Honda-san might-"
"No." Tooru said fiercely. "I won't." She shook her head. "It has to be Kyou-kun and Yuki-kun. It's selfish, but Kyou-kun said it's okay to be selfish sometimes, to say what I want."
Kyou looked up, surprised to hear his words from so long ago tossed back at him.
"What I want is Yuki-kun and Kyou-kun." Tooru said firmly. "Yuki-kun said that I was reacting to what happened, and he's right. Because when I thought that I might die, the only thing I wanted was them. Both of them. I don't think I'm confused." She looked up at them. "Probably, I'm being punished for being so selfish, but I can't stop, because I just want more and and more of Kyou-kun and Yuki-kun, however much I have isn't enough. Yuki-kun and Kyou-kun have given up so much for me, but for now, I can't stop being selfish." She bowed her head, still clutching their hands. They were speechless. "So for now... can I take this as Yuki-kun and Kyou-kun's promise?"
"If you stop crying." Kyou blurted, his face blazing bright, bright red. "I'll promise."
"I guess I'm selfish too." Yuki said, "Because I just want more and more of Honda-san too. I'll promise."
"I'll promise to stop crying." Tooru said to Kyou, making a liar out of herself. "I'll try."
"Are one of you taking a bath?" Mai called from the doorway of the kitchen. "We should be turning out the lights in here."
"Oh!" Tooru let her death grip on their hands go. "We still have teacups." She started gathering them up, embarrassed that her face was blotchy with tears. "We're coming!"
She couldn't look at Yuki or Kyou ashamed that she'd been so frank with feelings that she'd guarded even from herself for so long. She knew she was doing a horrible thing, she should release them and send them back to the lives they deserved. Yuki shouldn't be limping after her, severely injured. Kyou shouldn't be sweaty with such crass work as dish washing. She'd been born to this kind of life, they'd been born for better things. They said they'd taken everything from her, but she was the one who'd really been stealing things away from them.
Mai looked her over worriedly as they reached the kitchen doorway. "Is everything alright?"
"Yes." Tooru smiled, even knowing she was doing an awful thing by making them promise, she couldn't help the warmth of knowing they'd keep that promise. "Look what Kyou-kun and Yuki-kun bought!" She held up her wrist. "Isn't it beautiful?"
Mai gave a little "o" of appreciation. "Lovely!"
"It's to help remember my Mother." Tooru explained. "They used to call her the Red Butterfly."
Yuki watched Tooru babble at Mai about her mother history and wondered what he and Kyou had really just agreed to. He glanced at the cat and found him watching Tooru too. He glanced at Yuki.
"Did we say the right thing?" Kyou asked. "Do the right thing?"
"I don't know." Yuki said. "We just have to keep our promise."
"What do we do now?"
Yuki sighed, wondering when he'd been elected decision-maker for their... he didn't know what to call it, family? He kind of liked the way that sounded. He glanced at Kyou.
"Right now you have to go take a bath. You smell, Baka neko."